The “ACC” title game is Saturday and it’s a rather interesting battle between Boston College and Virginia Tech. And when I say “rather,” what I mean to say is “not at all.”

But success away from the stadium has been dampened by events inside of it. When No. 6 Virginia Tech and No. 12 Boston College — two of the former Big East schools whose defections made expansion possible — kick off Saturday, they will do so before roughly 20,000 empty seats.

“This is a game that’s evolving and developing,” Swofford said. “Games have to develop their own history and tradition. I think as we go along, the importance of the game and what it means will come. Our satisfaction will come when every game, regardless of the matchup, is played to a full house.”

Uh huh. Developing. In three years, three of the six participants have been the Big East defectors.  Miami is coming up, rest assured, Virginia Tech is probably better suited for recruiting and rivalry purposes in the ACC and Boston College is always … well, the Eagles are never terrible. Those three teams aren’t going away and it could very well “develop” into a pattern where the other ACC teams will have a hard time getting what was once theirs. They’ll be very happy about that, yes?

As it is, the ACC’s desire to expand came with a price. It watered down good rivalries and tried to artificially creat others. The schedule has lost its zest and there just isn’t anything enticing about Boston College v. Georgia Tech on a Saturday night.

The intention was clear, a$ it alway$ i$ with mo$t curiou$ decision$. The ACC has its title game, by golly, even if it’s in not really helping the ACC. It’s in Jacksonville, which doesn’t have much of a connection with the ACC, as, say, Charlotte. Even worse, the loser could be headed to the Gator Bowl in … all together now … Jacksonville!  No wonder the response has been so tepid.

For the second straight season, the game will give off an embarrassing appearance on television — swaths of empty teal seats at Jacksonville (Fla.) Municipal Stadium. For Saturday’s game, 55,000 tickets are expected to be sold in a 77,497-capacity stadium, Gator Bowl Association President Rick Catlett said. Virginia Tech has played only two games in front of fewer than 55,000 fans this season — at Duke and at Georgia Tech.

“I think we were hoping to get 65,000,” Catlett said. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to turn out to be that much. But we’ll put on one great show, I know that.”